FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 11, 2008

Freeholder Burry says Gov. Corzine’s statement opposing MOM line ignores area’s transportation needs

FREEHOLD –Monmouth County Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry today criticized Gov. Corzine’s opposition to the Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex rail line through Middlesex County, saying the governor is ignoring the big picture with regard to traffic congestion and growth.

In addition, she said the Governor was premature with his comments because a study on the best rail alternative has not yet been completed.

“The Monmouth Junction line is our best chance of relieving the growing traffic congestion on Route 9, Route 18, Route 130, Route 1 and the New Jersey Turnpike,” Freeholder Burry said. “Without the Monmouth Junction line, traffi c on Route 9 will increase 42 percent in just 12 years, bringing that highway to a crawl. We cannot allow that to happen.”

Recent studies by NJ Transit showed that the Monmouth Junction line would have many more rail riders than any of the other lines being studied. Furthermore, the Monmouth Junction alignment will offer the most passenger destinations, reduce more congestion, provide the greatest economic benefi ts, best serves State Development and Redevelopment Plan’s “Smart Growth Areas” to reduce air pollution, and will provide rail to unserved markets in the region.

“It was improper for the Governor to have commented on the alternatives being studied in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement before the study is completed and before a locally preferred alternative is chosen,” Freeholder Burry said. “Eliminating the Monmouth Junction line will hurt residents of all three counties because rail service would be precluded from students traveling to higher education facilities, seniors requiring medical care, working class people needing access to good jobs, and residents attending sporting and cultural events.”

The Governor also appears to have ignored the results of a recent opinion poll prepared by McLaughlin & Associates, a nationally renowned market research firm, which found that 80 percent of residents in Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties support the Monmouth Junction alignment.

“We cannot escape the fact that passenger rail service is desperately needed in Ocean, Western Monmouth and Southern Middlesex counties to alleviate the dramatic increases in traffic,” Freeholder Burry said. “It makes no sense to put passenger trains where we already have passenger trains. We need to provide passenger rail service in the areas that are growing and adding highway traffic.”

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